


Ben

by DiAnima



Series: Gifts & Requests [1]
Category: Runescape (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Gift Work, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 17:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15200021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiAnima/pseuds/DiAnima
Summary: They've met once before.





	Ben

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SaxSpieler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaxSpieler/gifts).



> A gift for SaxSpieler, based on some of her ideas.

_Edgeville_ , his brother had called it. As Sliske stood at the edge of a bustling human settlement and looked out over the blackened, scorched plain that stretched to the horizon, he could see why. The line between the dead sand of Forinthry and the new spring grass that grew alongside was as hard and distinct as a knife cut.

Sliske had to wonder at the nerve of humanity, deciding to settle so close to the scarred, ruined earth of the north. They witness the greatest extinction of their kind the world had ever seen, and what do they do? They dig a ditch, post some guards, and carry on living right next to it, as if nothing had happened. It was either resilience or stupidity. Sliske couldn’t decide which. It was hard to tell the difference with humans.

_Edgeville_. How quaint.

The settlement – he was reluctant to call it a town; perhaps in a century or so it would be worthy of the title - was busy at this time of day. Sliske turned from the edge of the world and wandered aimlessly, his temporary human skin allowing him to blend in effortlessly. The people didn’t seem wary of a face they hadn’t seen before and gave him no trouble.

There was a market in a square nearby and Sliske soon found himself gravitating towards the noise of it. He had little better to do. He had come here on a whim, after recalling a conversation he had had with his brother some time ago, where Wahisietel had expressed his surprise at the recovery of humanity in the north. Sliske walked amongst the stalls and the strangers, hands folded behind his back, allowing his racing thoughts to be drowned out by it all…

…and something small careered into the back of his leg, making him turn sharply.

A small boy, blond and sturdy. He had bounced off Sliske’s leg and landed in a heap on the cobbles. Sliske expected him to start crying, but he just blinked, as if surprised to abruptly find himself on the ground, and then pushed himself up and dusted himself down without complaint. He looked up at Sliske curiously.  

Sliske found his attention caught, though he couldn’t tell why at first.

“Ben!” came a sharp voice, a man’s, and the boy turned.

Sliske spotted the parents standing a few yards away: a strongly-built blond man walking with the aid of a stick, and a dark-haired woman in long robes who gave off an aura of magical power so surprisingly strong that Sliske blinked when he felt it. They carried themselves like soldiers, tall and proud. Their child had something from both of them – the shape of the father’s face, the colour of the mother’s eyes.

More interestingly, though, the boy had his mother’s aura – he, too, carried about him the sharp, clean scent of raw magic.

“Come on, Benny, time to go home,” called the woman, holding out her hand to him.

In the moment where the boy hesitated, Sliske considered taking him. It would be the easiest thing in the world. Nobody would be able to stop him. He would be gone through the shadows before anyone realised what he’d done. The woman stank of powerful magic and her little boy had some of that power too, despite being so young – Sliske could sense it, and it made him curious.

The parents were watching him closely. Hard suspicion was starting to creep onto their faces.  

He sighed and let the thought of kidnap pass. No. No point. He had better things to do. Besides, it would make his brother furious.

Instead, he took a heavy gold coin from inside his robes and flipped it to the boy, who caught it with a delighted look on his face. He gave Sliske one final inquisitive look, before turning away and running back to his parents.

Sliske watched them go. Once they were out of sight he grew bored and left, and forgot all about it.

*

They met again, eventually, though Sliske didn’t realise who it was until they were face to face. Many, many years had passed but even so – despite the time, despite the battles, despite the shocking, vivid, glowing blue of his eyes - that strange side effect of his chosen speciality of magic – despite all that, when Sliske had finally secured him and removed his scarf, he recognised the face. He was beaten and bloodied so _nearly_ broken beyond repair, thanks to the World Guardian, but Sliske still recognised the face.

He saw, almost hidden under the white skin and the unhealthy-looking black veins, a bold and fearless child with his father’s face and his mother’s eyes.

Sliske smiled, opened his arms in welcome, and greeted him by name.


End file.
